Joel Rechlicz Scores His First Goal in 853 Days

HERSHEY, PA – Joel Rechlicz celebrates with teammates Patrick Wellar and Steve Oleksy after scoring his first goal since December 18th, 2011 (Matt Trust / Sweetest Hockey on Earth)

Saturday night was the final night in the Hershey Bears season after being eliminated from playoff contention Friday night. With other Bears players banged up, Joel Rechlicz got back into the line up for his first game since March 23rd. And as Rechlicz skated with linemate Chris Brown for the final game of the season, the “Recker” did something he hasn’t done since December 18th, 2011: score.

You could have sworn the roof was going to come off of Giant Center when the puck found the back of the net for Rechlicz. “It was great to see him get a goal,” head coach Mike Haviland said after the game. “He was real excited. I thought he maybe was going to get another one there, too.”

“[I] was just coming down, let a shot go,” Rechlicz remarked after the game. “[Chris] Brownie did a great job shooting it back at him, got lucky I got the rebound, the rest is history I guess.”

The fan favorite Rechlicz was named number one star of the game for his efforts of getting Hershey on the board first. If not for former Bear Derek Whitmore’s third period goal, Rechlicz’s tally would have been the game winner in Hershey’s 2-1 victory over Adirondack.

Below the jump, check out some photos from the goal and video of the game from last night.

All photos by Matt Trust